1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to stone cutting equipment. In particular, this invention discloses a multi-sectional guide bar for supporting a continuously flexible saw belt of a stone slab saw.
2. Prior Art
Removing stone from the ground and then cutting that stone into desired shapes and thicknesses is a difficult task. Wire saws having an endless configuration have often been used to cut large blocks of stone into smaller sections. In particular, stone slab saws with a continuous flexible belt have been designed for this task, for example as disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,503. That patent describes a stone slab saw having a continuous flexible belt drivingly mounted to a plurality of sheaves rotatably mounted to a frame. The frame is vertically moveable by a pair of racks and pinions driven by a motor so that the belt can cut the stone as it is moved vertically downward through the stone. The belt usually includes a plurality of abrasive pad holders mounted thereto with each holder including an abrasive pad having an outwardly facing abrasive surface. To keep the belt cutting in a straight line, a one-piece guide bar is mounted to the frame to support the belt. That bar is placed under tension to provide rigid backing for the saw belt as it is driven and while it cuts through the block of stone. While the cutting of the stone is occurring and the saw is passing through the stone, a lubricant is emitted through passageways in the guide bar to facilitate the movement of the saw belt through the stone.
A similar device for cutting a block of stone containing a frame and a continuous flexible belt is also disclosed in German Patent No. 2,154,428.
Pivoting belt configured saws for cutting slots into stone are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,945,889, 4,679,541 and 4,971,022. Other types of belt-configured saws for cutting slots in stone or for cutting materials using an abrasive band are disclosed, for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,603,678 and 2,362,979.
Once the block of stone has been removed from the ground, the task of cutting the stone into sections or slices using a stone slab saw can be quite difficult because of the requirement of a straight cut. When such a cut is demanded, it is important that the saw belt pass smoothly and precisely through the stone without deflection. A guide bar to support a continuous saw belt is designed to keep the saw belt in line. In addition, the guide bar as it passes through the stone must also provide a significant amount of lubricant, such as water, to the surface of the stone being cut. Further, to permit the cut of the stone to be precise without excessive wear on the saw belt, the cross section of the saw belt must be kept narrow by placement of significant tension on the guide bar.
Despite the existence of prior devices using guide bars to support a saw belt, there is still a need for improved guide bars to support saw belts which will increase the accuracy of the cut of the stone and reliability of the equipment. Further, these guide bars should be easy to manufacture and install, inexpensive and capable of being placed under significant tension to maintain a precise cross section.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved stone slab saw with a multi-sectional guide bar system.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a stone slab saw with a multi-sectional guide bar system providing means for adjustment of the tension of each guide bar of the system.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a stone slab saw with a multi-sectional guide bar system wherein the tension of each of the guide bars of the multi-sectional guide bar system is independently adjustable.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a stone slab saw with a multi-sectional guide bar system which is easy to manufacture and assemble.
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a consideration of the following detailed description, drawings and claims. The description, along with the accompanying drawings, provides a selected example of construction of the device to illustrate the invention.